Children watching the screens in the dark before going to bed risk sleeping in the dark – ScienceDaily

The study by researchers at the University of Lincoln, Imperial College London, Birkbeck, the University of London and the Swiss Institute of Tropical Health and Public Health in Basel, Switzerland, is the first to badyze the use of multimedia devices with screens before the impact of the lighting conditions of the room during sleep in pre-adolescents.

The study found that the nightly use of phones, tablets and laptops is consistently badociated with poor sleep quality, lack of sleep, and perceived poor quality of life. Lack of sleep has also been shown to be badociated with impaired immune response, depression, anxiety and obesity in children and adolescents.

Data were collected from 6,616 adolescents aged 11 to 12 years and over 70% of them reported using at least one screen device in the hour before they went to bed. They were asked to self-report a series of factors, including the use of their device in dark, lighted rooms, at night, weekdays and weekends, the difficulty with which they found the sleep and their wake up time.

The results showed that those who used a phone or watched television in a lighted room were 31% more likely to sleep less than those who did not use a screen. The probability increased to 147% if the same activity took place in the dark.

It has been reported that 90% of adolescents worldwide do not sleep at the recommended nine to eleven hours per night, which coincides with increased use of screened media. In the UK alone, it is estimated that 98% of 12 to 15 year olds watch television and over 90% use a mobile phone at home.

Previous studies have shown that adequate duration and quality of sleep are essential in childhood to maintain physical and mental development. Sleep is also crucial for cognitive processes and a lack of adequate sleep has been directly linked to poor school performance.

The lead author, Dr. Michael Mireku, a researcher at the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Lincoln, said: "While previous research has established a link between the use of the I & # 39; screen and the quality and duration of youth sleep, our study is the first to show how can still influence this.

"Our findings are significant not only for parents but also for teachers, health professionals, and adolescents themselves, and we recommend that these groups be informed of potential problems with the use of the program." screen at bedtime, including insufficient sleep and poor sleep quality. "

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